Naseem Shah limped off the field on his return to international cricket at the MCG today (November 4), in his first match back after being rested from Pakistan's squad.
Naseem made an impact with the bat before coming on to bowl in the first ODI between Pakistan and Australia, hitting a 39-ball 40 from No.9. Pakistan were on the brink of being bowled out for less than 200 having been put in to bat, after they were reduced to 148-7. However, Naseem, who had only previously scored a total of 31 runs in his 14 ODI appearances, ensured Pakistan passed the 200-mark. He hit four sixes and one four in his onslaught.
Pakistan still posted what looked a below-par total. Coming on to bowl in the second over of the chase, Naseem conceded 14 runs off his opening over as he struggled with his line. Naseem is coming off a near-month long break from cricket after he was rested from Pakistan's Test squad following their defeat in the first Test against England. The selection panel rested Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi as well as Naseem, and Pakistan went on to win the following two Tests of the series.
Coming on to bowl his second over, Naseem dismissed Jake Fraser-McGurk before Josh Inglis pushed Australia on towards their target. Having reached 139-3, Shaheen dismissed Inglis one run short of his half-century before Haris Rauf took two in two balls to bring Pakistan back into the game. However, by the time Naseem came back on to bowl, Australia only needed eight runs to win with two wickets remaining.
After bowling two balls of the over, Naseem looked in significant discomfort with his left calf. The physio was called on to the field and Naseem walked off the field, unaided by the physio. Mohammad Hasnain completed the rest of the over, before Australia completed the victory in the 34th over of the innings.
An injury concern to Naseem would be a significant worry for Pakistan ahead of a busy period of international fixtures. Following the completed of the three-match ODI series against Australia, they have a second leg of the tour with a three-match T20I series which concludes on November 18. They then play Zimbabwe in an ODI and T20I series before they travel to South Africa for a tour of all three formats, taking them to the end of the year.
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